Our amazing 3D scan of our little girl

Yes... it's official... she is definitely a little girl! Today we had our 3D/4D scan at the Baby Scan Studio in Ashford, Kent. It was so nice to be welcomed into a scanning room, hubby, mum, dad and sister in tow, and not be told the scan was limited to two people only! The staff were lovely and friendly, and we got 2 print outs of stills from the scan, as well as a DVD of the whole thing, and vouchers for 3 photography sessions with a local photographer (which gives us a print from each shoot - 2 months, 6 months and 1 year - and all the images on CD).

We got a lovely half hour watching our daughter be a little madam. She didn't care mummy had spent £50 on a private scan just to see her... true to form, she spent most of the scan with her hands in front of her face, just as she has with the past two scans!

Flicking from 2D to 3D was brilliant. Even the 2D scan was so detailed. The 3D was amazing though (when you could see her without a hand or foot in the way). Baby seems to like having her hands up by her head, with one looking like she was grabbing her ear, the other in her mouth. She seems to chew on the side of her hand a lot! I wonder if she'll do that when she comes out! I was really surprised how often she yawns! I didn't realise babies yawned in the womb. We caught her yawning on several occasions (when she wasn't turning her head away from the probe or sticking a hand on front of her mouth!).

Fai and mum both got a little teary watching the scan. Mum's been staring at the print outs since we left, exclaiming how cute baby is! We think she has Mummy's Cupid bow lip, but Daddy's wide mouth, and possibly Mummy's nose. She has her Daddy's wide face shape I think, and she has very cute chubby cheeks! We couldn't tell who's forehead she has as her head was too far buried into my pelvis and was hidden by the placenta.

Seeing her face properly is amazing. Now when she kicks and I look down at my belly, I can visualise this wholly formed, actual real little cute human being inside me. I'm so excited to meet her now! My little bean isn't a bean anymore! She's a proper little girl!! <3

A YouTube video of the scan is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiFz_AT2UZw

Eek! It's an ALIEN!!

Today baby managed to FREAK OUT my colleagues. She's been kicking and stretching a lot this morning. Sat at my desk, I told my colleagues she was moving. First Ben sat there going "urrghhhh!!, mesmerised as my belly rippled and shifted on its own, then the rest of the girls all huddled round my chair to have a look. A unified scream escaped all of them when baby gave me a rather strong kick on my right side and my belly button jolted. I started laughing really hard at their reactions so baby stopped moving! It was hilarious! I looked up to a mass of drop jawed open mouths. I think they were genuinely shocked. Admittedly the first time I saw it myself it instantly reminded me of the film Alien when it bust out the guys ribcage. Heehee. Thank god it's something considerably cuter that's causing my spontaneous belly boogie!

I love it when she moves! I'm just waiting for someone to clock it on the train, as yesterday an today she was making my bump and jiggle loads. I reckon my fellow commuters may not scream but I bet I'd get some silent horrified stares!

She now seems to have settled a leg right in my right side, which is slightly uncomfortable, but I'll let her off... love my little bubba!!!! <3

Another colleague asked if she could feel my bump today, which is rare as most people just touch without asking... Luckily I don't mind at all but I imagine some people would. What I DID think was possibly overstepping the mark was when she lent down and placed her EAR on my belly! I was kind of stood there in the kitchen, arms out stretched, strangers head pressed to my stomach, thinking errrr.... ok then! Actually made me laugh though. It was kind of cute she tried to listen. I love how pregnancy just fascinates people.

Being pregnant seems to make you instantly more approachable... unless of course it's a guy who wants to chat you up... then you're totally off limits. Which makes me think of my lunch today with a colleague. We had gone to Ping Pong for dimsum and were just finishing up, when two men in their late 60s sat next to us. I had my handbag on my lap with my cardigan draped over my belly, as we were about to pay and leave. "oh, can you help us? We don't know what to order..." was their opening line. After a few suggestions and a few more lines and comments, we stood up. Imagine their horror when they clocked my huge 6 month pregnant bump! Their jaws dropped! That really made me laugh inside! Haha! Hey, I'll get what I can take... no one looks at you in THAT way when you're pregnant... well, apart from my lovely husband who insists I'm still lovely and the most beautiful pregnant woman in the world. Awwwwwwww.....

Hello third trimester!

Wow. I cannot believe I am in my third trimester already. It seems like only yesterday that I was in my first three months of pregnancy and stressing about every little twinge. I worried about symptoms I had. I worried about symptoms when they disappeared. I worried non stop about whether baby was ok or not. To be honest, that doesn't really go away! I still panic as soon as she has a lazy day and stops kicking.

My body shape has changed so dramatically, and not just my ever increasing bump. My face is fuller, my arms and legs chubbier, my back has gotten broader (can you believe my bra measurement has gone up from a 28" to 36"!). I pray I get my old body back... although I suspect it may not ever be quite the same! All those years of wishing I was thinner... I look at photos now and think WOW I was so slim! Why didn't I see it then?! Thankfully my boobs have gotten bigger along with my arse. Always a silver lining! Whoop!

It seems like no time at all until baby will finally be here and our lives will change forever. It's hard to imagine just what that's going to be like. I know it's going to involve a lot of sleepless nights, probably some arguments due to over-tiredness and a complete and utter change in lifestyle. But I also day dream about how wonderful it's going to be to hold my baby in my arms, smell her hair and watch her grow up. Up until now I don't think I've really thought about that. The end result. And when I did, it would freak me out a bit. How am I going to cope with looking after another tiny, vulnerable human being?! But now I worry about it less and less and I smile more and more. It's really going to happen. It seems so much more real. I'm still in denial about the birth though. I haven't gotten that far yet! Out of sight out of mind. I'm hoping she'll just pop right out in a batt of an eyelid. Ha! Yeah right. I'll tackle that horror closer to the time!

Next week I have a week off work. Then I go back to work for 7 weeks and that's it! I'm off on maternity leave! 3 weeks (or more if she decides to hang around in there all cosy and come late) of time on my hands, waiting for our special arrival. I can't believe it! Where has the time gone?! I can see myself writing that again in 12 months time! Time flies. It's actually scary!

Boing boing! Belly kick video!

So the ongoing side ache/ rib pain continues... but it doesn't seem to have phased little bean bean. She's bouncing around in there like she's on a pogo stick! I've been trying to get a video of her booting my belly like a premier footballer, but up til now every time I got my phone out, she'd stop. Uncanny timing this child has! Today I'm working from home (thanks to the painful side ache) and was sat on the spare bed with the laptop on my lap when she decided to remind mummy that she's there. I grabbed my phone and hooray! I managed to get a video of her giving me some rather hard kicks (although, admittedly, they could be punches... or head butts... I have no idea which way round she is so it could be any appendage she's using to prod around in there!).  

Rib flare, a long ass drive & a bad case of baby brain

Oh joy... another pregnancy pain seems to have raised its ugly head... rib pain! At least I think that's what it is! My right side has started really aching. All day today I've had pain like a dull ache to a stitch at the top right of my bump, kind of under my right breast and more towards my back. I think it could be my ribs expanding? Apparently it's called rib flare... Whatever it is, it's sore and uncomfortable!

Today we went to church again. I think bean bean loves it in there! Last week and this week she was way more active than normal. Hubby even saw my bump flinch as she gave me a massive kick! Maybe it's the church organ that wakes her up? Or the hymns! I think she loves music in general. All the way to Danni's house today in the car she was jumping around and wriggling to the music!

Which brings me to another pregnancy symptom... baby brain! I think I am now a danger on the roads! I've always been a very careful driver. I have 10 years no claims. But since I got pregnant, my concentration level behind the wheel has disappeared. I find myself day dreaming and missing turnings. I've even had to brake last minute on several occasions because I've realised that the car in front of me has stopped! I would never have been so careless before, but I genuinely feel like a total airhead behind the wheel. On my way to Danni's house today (and my friend Lavern's house yesterday) I followed the google map route. Normally this would have been fine. I wouldn't even need it to get to Lavern's place, I've driven it so many times... but now a days I just can't seem to be able to both drive and pay attention to the route on the map. Looking at one means I am totally distracted from the other. It actually scares me! Today I managed to miss my turning several times, and at one point, missed the exit to Sidcup (I wanted to go to the Tesco petrol station as I had a voucher and it's the cheapest price per litre around) and ended up on a dual carriage way heading towards the M20! I freaked out (which is also not like me as I would ordinarily just take the next exit and loop back on myself). The money i spent on my massive detour probably used up the money I saved trying to get to the petrol station!! A 35 minute journey ended up taking me almost an hour! Argh!! No, I think from this point on, unless I know where I'm going, hubby is going to have to drive. My brain is frazzled thanks to my hormones. I'll probably end up in Cornwall trying to find my way home. What's become of me and my sensible driving ability?! Shameful!!

My mother's father's brother is... Chinese family titles

When it comes to family titles, English is so simple. Everyone is either an aunty, an uncle, a grandad, nanny etc. You have a maximum of maybe 4 or 5 family references to learn. Chinese, on the other hand, is not so simple!

In Chinese, dependant on whether the family member is from your mother's side or your father's side of the family, relations have different names. This is the same for every family, so there's no "call me nanny" or "I want to be called granny Jean" choices to be made. It's all set depending on the generational gap between you and baby and which side of the family you sit on. For example, your father's father is Yeh Yeh, your mother's father is Goong Goong.

At dinner last weekend, mum, Popo (I call her such because she's my mother's mother and therefore Popo - pronounced por or - or Ah Po) and I were discussing what baby will call Popo. She can't call my Popo the same as she will call my mum Popo, so baby will call my Popo Tai Po. Confusing? Well then we tried to work out what baby would call my Goong Goong's brother (my mother's uncle). We had no idea! Mum calls him Harry Sook (sook is your father's younger brother), but baby wouldn't call him the same!

So this morning I googled and found this... an invaluable table detailing all the family references depending on which side of the family you sit! Soooooo....

• My younger sister Keri will be called Yee Yee (which is what we used to call my Mum's younger sister).
• Hubby's younger brother will be called Sook Sook.
• Mum will be called Popo.
• Dad will be called Goong Goong.
• Hubby's Dad will be called Yeh Yeh.
• Hubby's Mum (god rest her soul) will be called Ma Ma.
• My Popo will be called Tai Po.

I could go on to describe cousins (yes each has a different title depending on which side of the family, whether they're younger or older than me!), uncles, aunts and so on, but I'll let you look it up instead!

Confusing but nice to have tradition!